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Former City Hall Staffer Files Discrimination Complaints Against Councilor’s Office

The complaints, which have yet to be investigated by the city and state, allege Councilor Tiffany Koyama Lane and her chief of staff retaliated against and fired a staffer after she requested ADA accommodations.
Avatar photo Taylor Griggs

The Mercury’s Jeremiah Hayden contributed to this story.  A former staffer in Portland City Councilor Tiffany Koyama Lane’s office filed complaints with the city and state, alleging the councilor and her chief of staff, Mary Li, retaliated against her after she requested reasonable accommodations for a disability.  The former employee, Sprout Chinn, believes she was punished and […]

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Legacy Emanuel Sends Cease and Desist to Nurses Union Over ICE Statements

Oregon Nurses Association previously spoke out about alleged patient privacy violations of ICE detainees who receive medical care at the Legacy facility.
Avatar photo Taylor Griggs and Jeremiah Hayden

Updated: 11:37 am January 25. Originally published: 2:55 pm January 23 This story has been updated with comment from Legacy Health.  Attorneys for Legacy Emanuel Medical Center sent a cease and desist notice to the Oregon Nurses Association (ONA) on January 16, accusing the union of making “false and misleading statements” regarding the hospital’s policies […]

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Council Workers’ Union Complaint Alleges Loretta Smith Fired Staffer in Retaliation for Union Organizing

The newly-formed Council Alliance of Workers union is calling on city councilors to uphold their commitment to labor rights in their own workplaces.
Avatar photo Taylor Griggs

A new union representing Portland City Council aides and operations staff filed an unfair labor practice (ULP) complaint against the city for alleged anti-union conduct from Councilor Loretta Smith’s office. The complaint, filed January 13, alleges Smith retaliated against and fired a former aide due to his role in organizing the Council staff union.  The […]

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“We Want the Same Protections”: TriMet Safety Staff Announce Union Effort

They work to keep passengers safe, but say they are not afforded the rights of regular TriMet employees.
Avatar photo Taylor Griggs

Alison Segler has worked as a TriMet Safety Response Team staffer for the better part of the last five years. She is passionate about her job, which allows her to connect with people riding Portland’s public transit system, and provide resources to those in need.  “I would like to express that it is my honor […]

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Strike Averted: New Seasons Grocery Workers Secure First Labor Contract

After threatening to strike, unionized workers voted Monday to ratify a contract with increased wages and better health insurance protections.
Avatar photo Abe Asher

Just three weeks ago, Ava Robbins, cheese clerk at the New Seasons location in Concordia and co-chair of the New Season Labor Union, was preparing for a protracted, holiday-season strike.  “A few months ago at the bargaining table, we said we can’t let this drag on into another year,” Robbins said. “We’re close to an […]

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Legacy Health Staff Say They’ll Stay on Strike Until Company Offers Better Deal

Clinicians say their pay hasn’t kept pace with wages at other local health care systems as the two sides begin mediation.  
Avatar photo Abe Asher

Advanced practice providers at Legacy Health medical centers in Portland remain on strike this week, and say they’ll stay on their picket lines until they reach an agreement for a new labor contract. “The energy is high,” Megan Barckert, a nurse practitioner at Legacy Cancer Services, told the Mercury from a rain-soaked picket line at […]

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Portland-Area Starbucks Baristas Remain on Strike Over Labor Contract, Wage Disputes

Nationwide, unionized baristas say the company has failed to negotiate fair terms as the coffee chain racks up labor violations and complaints.
Avatar photo Abe Asher

Workers at unionized Starbucks locations across the Portland area remain on strike this week and say they will not return to work until Starbucks resolves complaints about its labor practices and returns to the bargaining table. Roughly 2,000 workers at 95 unionized Starbucks locations across the country have been on strike since mid-November. Seven of […]

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Amid Months of Contentious Bargaining, PSU Adjunct Union Wins Unfair Labor Practice Case

A state board found PSU violated labor law by withholding benefit funds from adjunct union members. The incident has shaken the trust of many adjunct faculty as the union works on their next contract.
Avatar photo Kevin Foster

Portland State University’s adjunct faculty union recently won an unfair labor practice case against Portland State University (PSU) over the withholding of special benefit funds. The outcome was a victory for the Portland State University Faculty Association (PSUFA), but adjuncts at the university are still shaken by PSU’s actions amid ongoing contract negotiations.  The union […]

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City Council Caught in the Middle of Police Oversight Labor Strike

Councilors are avoiding City Hall while Portland’s Independent Police Review staff are on strike, bringing some Council operations to a halt. 
Avatar photo Jeremiah Hayden and Courtney Vaughn

Staff at Portland’s Independent Police Review (IPR) typically work out of a ground-level office at City Hall, but on Wednesday afternoon, they were setting up tents just feet from where they normally report to work. Wednesday marked the start of a three-day strike by IPR’s 11 union-represented employees. Despite wind and periodic bursts of heavy […]

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Portland-Area Kaiser Permanente Workers Could Strike as Soon as Next Week

Thousands of employees voted to strike if the health care workers can’t reach a labor agreement with Kaiser before Tuesday.
Avatar photo Abe Asher

Healthcare workers at Kaiser Permanente in Oregon and Southwest Washington are set to strike for five days beginning next Tuesday if they are unable to reach a contract agreement with the care consortium.  The Oregon Federation of Nurses and Health Professionals (OFNHP), which represents around 4,000 Kaiser employees, announced last month that 97 percent of […]

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PSU Sheds Staff After Expedited Return-To-Office Requirement

With rapid changes to in-person work policies in pursuit of a more “vibrant” campus, some PSU employees say they’ve been left behind.
Avatar photo Kevin Foster

Staff at one of Portland’s largest employers say they were caught off guard by a dramatic change in timeline for a return-to-office mandate.  In late July, a number of Portland State University (PSU) employees were notified they’d need to return to working downtown by mid-November—a large jump from an earlier September 2026 timeline.  The original […]

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